According to letters obtained by CNBC, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, which makes rockets that can be used more than once and provide internet through satellites, is raising $750 million in a new round of funding. This gives the company a value of $137 billion.
Last month, Bloomberg was the first to report that SpaceX was letting insiders sell shares at $77 each, which would have made the company worth close to $140 billion. The company raised more than $2 billion in 2022, including a $250 million round in July. During an equity round in May, the company was valued at $127 billion, CNBC said.
Andreessen Horowitz, which is also known as a16z, will likely lead the new funding round, according to an email sent to people who might invest in SpaceX. Founders Fund, Sequoia, Gigafund, and many others were among the first investors in SpaceX.
A16z also took part in Elon Musk’s $44 billion leveraged buyout of Twitter. This deal closed at the end of October 2022.
When asked for a comment, SpaceX and a16z did not respond right away.
Last year, SpaceX reached a number of new milestones, but its Starship program, which is part of NASA’s plan to send astronauts back to the moon, ran into delays.
On the bright side, the company’s satellite internet service, Starlink, has more than 1 million users and was a lifeline for people in Ukraine who lost access to the internet after Russia invaded. Through its Falcon program, SpaceX was also able to launch more than 60 rockets that could be used again.
At its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, the company is still making progress on its Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicles. It’s not clear when the company will move on to the next step of the program, which involves launching one of these bigger vehicles into orbit as a test.
Musk has talked a lot on Twitter about geopolitical issues, so NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently asked SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell if Musk’s “distraction” as the new owner and CEO of Twitter might affect SpaceX’s work with the space agency. NBC News reported that Musk’s “distraction” as the new owner and CEO of Twitter might affect SpaceX’s work with the space agency. Nelson said Shotwell told him it wouldn’t happen.
According to CNET, NASA is now thinking about whether SpaceX can help rescue people on the International Space Station. These people include an astronaut and two cosmonauts from Russia’s Roscosmos. In December, a coolant leak happened in Russia’s Soyuz capsule. An investigation is being done to find out if the spacecraft can safely bring the crew home or if emergency steps will have to be taken instead.
